Jim’s Blog

The Wise Men 2:1-12 (Part 1) There are four points of interest in these twelve verses: Bethlehem, the Wisemen (or “Magi”), the Star, and Herod the Great. Bethlehem literally means “house of bread”. In Micah 5:2 the prophet adds “Ephratah” to Bethlehem which reads, “House of Bread twice blessed”. Perhaps Micah, under the inspiration of […]

  Some of you (I hope!) are reading excerpts from Cantelon’s Casual Commentary here on the site. Writing it is a joy, although labour intensive. It’s also a touch revelatory. You’d think that after 50 years of pastoring I’d know a thing or two about the Bible. Yes I do, but only a little The […]

Jesus’ Birth 1:18-25 Part 2 We don’t know how far the divorce proceedings had progressed, but at some time in the process, “an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in […]

Jesus’ Birth 1:18-25 Part 1 Matthew’s account of Jesus’ birth is blunt and to the point, lacking Luke’s beguiling detail. Matthew seems to rush into the messianic narrative, impatient to recount Jesus’ powerful, earth-shaking ministry. So he summarizes the story of the incarnation. But the words he does use are charged with meaning. The word […]

None of us are unaware of the rapid spread of the corona virus around the world. It’s a threat to all of us, even as the epicentre of the critical mass of affected persons is still its country of origin. The nations of the world are on high alert and proactive measures are escalating. Blame, […]

Jesus’ Ancestors (1:1-17) Part 10 Before moving on, just a word about “levirate marriage”. In De. 25:5-10 we read this: “If brothers are living together and one of them dies without a son his widow must not marry outside the family. Her husband’s brother shall take her and marry her and fulfill the duty of […]

Jesus’ Ancestors (1: 1-17) Part 9 Then, there is another woman to consider. Bathsheba was a Hittite woman, wife of Uriah one of King David’s military leaders. While Uriah was on duty, David seduced Bathsheba, then had Uriah killed. To maintain whatever honour David could have salvaged from such a sinful, tawdry act, he married […]

I was watching a TV documentary recently where there was a study on “finding happiness” through group dynamics. In other words, leaving all screens behind and simply fellowshipping face to face with flesh and blood human beings was the road to happiness. What a concept! One of the significant benefits of this kind of intentional […]

Jesus’ Ancestors (1:1-17) Part 8 Then there’s the story of Ruth. An entire, but brief, book of the Old Testament tells us about her. A Jewish man, Elimelek (“My God is king”), with his wife Naomi (“Pleasant”), migrate from Bethlehem to the region of Moab because of a famine. In Moab, shortly after, Elimelek dies. […]